Warning on contingency wraps
 

I just saw on the nosey network (Facebook) that Jeff Longhany was denied contingency claims after his Orlando win because his stickers on his wrap were not legal size. C'mon man!

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

I told him to look at this as a blessing..... he just saved a TON of time trying to collect from those deadbeat contingency sponsors! NHRA doesn't seem to care much bout. Sorry your xxxx is over three weeks old.

Jeff won a few last year and no one said boo about the stickers then..... C'mon MAN!

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

That really creates a vacuum. There I said it nicely.

Almost forgot CS

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

No decals for the win :)

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

This sometimes borders on ridiculous.. I had a Tech guy at an out of Divisional National Event threaten to fail me, cause I had trimmed my Lucas Oil/NHRA decals to fit on a panel (JUST THE WHITE BORDER).. had to get new ones and put them over them.. then he made me pop my chute, and repack it in front of him.. IMAGINE THAT!!!

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

it has become more and more apparent that the GREAT NHRA could care less about the SPORTSMAN RACER, worst pits at National Events, lucky to get 2 time runs ,increased entry fees, dropping purses if you win a National Event etc, and now the BS about wraps for contingency payouts, when half the time you dont get paid anyway unless you furnish a receipt of purchase within a 2 year period, tearing off manufacture sticker off face shields on new helmets SAYING IT IS A BLINDER!!!Stupidity at the highest and some dimwit some called Tech man did at Orlando, but never once did they say lets check a few guys to see if they are legal. Just how much worse can this STUPIDITY get?

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

Understand that ATI would not pay me few years ago till they seen a picture of my car with decals, stuff was got directly from them and had all the paper work. told them they need to stop dealing with people if you can't trust them, NHRA workers.

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

I feel sorry for Jeff, but if you go to the contingency program rules, it states they must be the approved decal. Then, rule #1 reads
1. Decal must be exact size and design of company’s contingency decal (36-square-inch
maximum).
we as racers get mad when NHRA doesn't enforce rules, but then we get mad when they do enforce the rules. It just isnt this example, if you go thru different topics and comments, there are others that our opinions flip flop.
I was lucky to get paid for contingency when I won class last year. everyone paid reasonably quick.

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

I had the same problem. I just purchased my converter and balancer about 5 months prior, brand new from them.

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

This rule has been around for years. I won class at Indy and the NHRA tech guy was checking off my stickers and there was one I had to trim to fit on a body panel and he said, "Can't use that one it's not the right size." It is a frustrating rule though.





Bret Velde
2003 ??/SA

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

Multi-million dollar companies arguing over $50 here or $100 there. It shouldn't even be worth their time to argue. If you don't want to pay, then don't participate in contingency program.

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

If you want to play the game, you have to follow the rules. Simple as that.

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

Many of the comments display naivety and an ignorance of the onerous contingency program requirements that manufacturers and suppliers are subject to when they select to join the sanctioning body in this respect.

We suggest that you carefully look into the contingency program criteria to fully understand the import.

In terms of the liberal license associated with the branding/exposure of self-designed displays such as wraps, once the mandated design is modified/altered, what value proposition may exist is also a departure from the original intent. Soon the labeling is reduced by twenty five percent and then by fifty.

When you analyze the true nature of brand exposure that is generated here, it's unlikely that you reach a conclusion that this is an effective marketing vehicle based on investment/ROI.

When we consider contingency, the required exposure would create a mandated design that may not fit on your door. Even in that circumstance, there is little gained overall.

Simply display exactly what you are provided regardless of how it is applied.

NHRA TV has helped to an extent with regard to visibility and brand awareness. It remains to be seen how the added exposure impacts product/service demand. What occurs at the racing facility is virtually of no benefit.

I remain somewhat surprised that contingency exists at all.

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

^^^^^^^^^^^^. After spending $25K to repair, straighten out and custom paint a 54yr old car body, no way am I putting on a decal that might return a $100.

Question - can I put the NHRA LODRS decal on my side windows?

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

And thats your choice. For me, the 700 in contingency I recieved to win class paid for my fuel and hotel. I know several people that have your same reply. To win a national event, It can be as much as 4500 dollars at 300 a decal.
Thats why we have a choice other than the mandatory decals. Many racers complain about not enough money to win a race, this program doubles or even quadruples the money you can receive.

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

-Technically ,no

The side windows are supposed to be reserved for number ,class, and dial -in.
Station wagons can get away with that, being that they have an extra set of side windows.
I know that some have been pushing this issue but I suspect a crack down in coming.

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

I've always ran them on my side windows.

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

They make what I would best call "magnetic sign boards" they are very thin, find some of these and put your decals on them and then you can put these on your car when you race.

Stan

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

Ah! sounds like a great idea. I could put the LODRS sticker on the same way then remove them as needed. Any chance of them coming off around 130mph?

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

Maybe they're better than they used to be. I used them when I bracket raced my street car in the 80's, and had to run a few decals. They didn't "stick" too well at the 92 or so mph that I "screamed" through the traps.

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

I don't know. I am sure that there is different quality which will have some effect and also where on the car they are will also have some effect. Some years ago I knew someone who used these on the quarter panel behind his rear tires and had no problems when racing the car.

Stan

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

Do you actually believe the sh** you write? VMP had awful pits, potholes all over the place the week before a national event. The following week the pits were all smooth. If tracks can't afford to have perfect pits for you then take it up with the track, not NHRA. 2 times runs is all you need, there are tons of weather stations and if you keep data logs you can figure out pretty closely what your car will run. Increased entry fees might contribute to increased insurance costs, just a thought. Tell me one person whose been asked to remove a sticker from their helmet. Lastly, have you seen the skeleton crews at these divisionals? You think they have the time to check out every single car for every single item? What's stupid is knowing something is a rule and not following it, then getting upset when you eventually get caught. And thats not specifically directed towards cars with contingency wraps. Sounds like you should stay home since you hate NHRA so much.

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

Sorry . I misread the quote...I thought you were talking decals in general.
Probably get away with the NHRA one.

Related... I had a bunch of decals on Pro-Mag ,which is one of the brands of magnetic backing.
Larry Kopp needed a few for his 150 mph comp car, in a hurry. He gave them back and told me thanks..They stayed on just fine.

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

Have someone install PPF on your car where you want to put the decals and you don't have to worry.

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

I guess you could say I'm just a whiner or whatever but I would think there's some more important **** out there that needs to be teched or looked at that's way more important than busting someone's balls over a sticker being a few centimeters too small. I have a wrap also and I have not checked every one of them but the ones I did were identical to my my wrap but hopefully I'll get the chance this year for them to check it out.

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

Rules is rules and are printed in plain English to be followed or ignored at your own peril.

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

So a car that was in 3 finals last year winning a divisional and a national, and 9 finals total paid no problem, had 5 decals that weren't part of the wrap and they wouldn't pay on it either why is all at once a problem?

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

Honestly I thought the wrap was a good idea, maybe all these BS decals don’t all fit on everyone’s car perfectly, with the wrap it can be tailored to the size of your car, organized nicely, and custom fit. Some of these decals are big, ugly, and god forbid you try to peel some of these off with a decent paint job! Some of us take pride in how these cars look and are particular on how decals look, some don’t care about this stuff but I think most do.

Tim Stickles

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

My thoughts, as I once was responsible for the contingency program where I worked. As a racer I appreciate the recognition and support that the manufacturers provide with contingency programs.
As a business these programs are not actually cost effective these days. Like certain types of advertising there are much better ways to spend marketing $$$ with better results.
I pushed for payouts on our newest offerings. Hopefully motivating racers to upgrade or step up to later designs. Carburetors are a good example.

On the subject of this thread, A contingency program is an agreement that is made between the sanctioning body and the company wishing to post. There are specific requirements that are spelled out in the agreement. Some will ask for proof of purchase. Some specify no stacking of stickers on multiple postings from the same company. Nearly all require you to use a specific size decal for the item posted.

Several years ago I had a racer contact me because NHRA rejected their claim because the decal was on a wrap and it was "re sized" It was a about half the size of the decal that was specified in the contingency agreement.

The car owner was upset because NHRA had rejected the claim and our contingency administrator had followed protocol and not paid the claim.

I ended up getting a call from the owner of the team. I congratulated him for the win, I thanked him for using our product. I then asked if he would like us to pay him half the payout since that was the amount that they had reduced the decal. As a business man he understood the position I was in. The re sizing of all the contingency decals really made the car look great! It made the main sponsor logo on the doors standout as it wasn't crowded with little stickers. At the end of the day the sponsor is paying for that specific sticker and logo.
The gentleman I had talked with agreed to install our full size required sticker and we paid then claim. I had another team do the same a few years later and the process was repeated. Our people were happy and the racers understood.
It wasn't the wrap that was the problem, it was the re sized decal.

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

I appreciate the companies that post and pay us ! If I had a company that post I would want the decal to be the proper size for my product . We need to follow the rules before the program is gone .

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

Robin I can appreciate where you're coming from on this and your point of view is certainly from someone who has dealt with this firsthand. Rules are rules most definitely and hopefully since NHRA is being so diligent these days maybe they will apply this to some real meaningful stuff as well. I don't think we're talking halfsize decals but nonetheless they were undersized.
Now that they are being so careful about the contingency program maybe they can get the checks out more promptly. Last time I collected contingency it took months and alot of emails to get my money. It really wasn't about the money but the principal of it you know since I was careful to have the proper size decals lol. I didn't start this thread as much as a bitch session but as a warning since I know quite a few have been using the wraps hopefully this will save someone else a few pennies. Myself personally I have some body work coming up and I think I will be going clean afterwards.

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

I raced for many many years and can tell you first hand the contingency program is a hollow shell of what it once was.

Do what they require and that's your only chance at collecting

I won't go into a rant about why the program is what it is today but trust me it was far better in the golden era.....

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

Hi Craig
This is so very true.
Several decades ago, when there was maybe a half dozen Nat's a year, guys like Duffy and Hooker Headers would run full size ads in ND ,with pictures , of the award winners.
Now ,with a race every other week, and with the status of the current Ragster, it just doesn't happen anymore.
So, now that we have very few spectators at Divs , fuel crazed fans at the Nats that don't even stay in the stands for Pro /Stock, I don't see very much value in the NHRA shakedown, I mean program.
So, yes..Follow the rules and hope for the best in the future

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

Chase @ Accelerated Graphics told me that wraps were fine if the decal was the correct size per the original decal. His wraps are like this.

When I paid contingency for NHRA @ Nitroplate (miss those days), I didn't wait on NHRA to send me the info. I looked at DRC every Sunday night, made my list of W/RU and Monday morning we were writing checks....with approved decal of course. :-)

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

So I posted about the size of the decal and the contract with NHRA. As someone mentioned it was good that NHRA was stepping up to make sure that the rules were followed.
As to payment, it is up to the individual companies to make the payouts per the postings. When a vendor signs up with NHRA they pay a fee to be a contingency partner. There are other benefits that NHRA provides in those programs as well.
An example would be midway display space as well as tickets to events based on their spend/program.

Several years ago there was a company that posted for several of their products. I was told that they never paid any contingency. Yet they signed up the following year. Since I wasn't directly involved, I won't name the company.

My opinion is that if companies don't pay their postings then NHRA needs to not allow them to post.

I think that this was addressed several years ago. I am sure that someone here knows the full story.

The contingency administrator from my previous employer processes the payments once she received the sheets from NHRA. Once she has all the information such as W9's she submits them to accounts payable to generate the payment. It goes into the payment cycle which can then get the racer paid.
If NHRA is late, or busy with many events, or if our lady missed the window for the next check run it can add time to the process.

Hats off to those companies that set aside a separate account and cut the checks shortly after an event.
If someone doesn't pay let NHRA know. They were very good about follow-up on racers who contacted them when they were not paid.

Robin

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

Can I get paid for all the other times the decal is being shown not just when I win just asking for a friend ????

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

Back in the day I, as well as many other letterers were hand-painting the decals. I tried to make sure sizes and styles were correct to protect the racer/customer. Mainly because I DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE TO REMOVE AND RE-DO THEM! Of course many of the dragster guys(and smaller cars) were searching for the smallest versions and even trimming them down to fit. Even more crucial today!!

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

Hey Robin. As far as you know, are there any penalties for a company when they don’t pay a racers contingency claim after a racer has provided everything required to collect a claim, or several claims? I don’t believe there is but figured you would know better than me with your experience on the business side. If there were no repercussions for me if i decided not to pay my taxes or other bills, I wouldn’t pay them either.

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

Joe, no there isn't any penalties for non payment....at least there wasn't when I was paying.

Re: Warning on contingency wraps
 

As said above, there are no penalties for not paying. NHRA was diligent about forwarding the racers complaints or questions when they were not paid.

We had several who were claiming our parts that were fraud. I was tasked with sorting those out. Not fun

As I mentioned I would suggest that NHRA have a non renewal policy on anyone with a clear history of not paying the racers.

Robin